t beings, and faced mighty wonders in deep places; and he
thought of them more than he liked to say, because he had to get his
living.

Nothing could be settled to a nicety between them, not even as to
pounds, shillings, and pence. For the nature of the job depended wholly
upon the behavior of the weather; and the weather must be not only at
its best, but also setting meekly in the right direction at the right
moment of big springtide. The diver was afraid that he might ask too
little, and the factor disliked the risk of offering too much, and
possibly spoiling thereby a noble nature. But each of them realized (to
some extent) the honesty of the other, and neither of them meant to be
unreasonable.

"Give and take, is what I say," said the short man with the monstrous
chest, looking up at the tall man with the Roman nose; "live and let
live. Ah! that's it."

Mr. Mordacks would have said, "Right you are," if that elegant
expression had been in vogue; but as that brilliance had not yet
risen, he was content to say, "Just so." Then he added, "Here you have
everything you want. Madam Precious will send you twice a day, to the
stone at the bottom of the lane, a gallon of beer, and victuals in
proportion. Your duty is to watch the tides and weather, keep your boat
going, and let me know; and here I am in half an hour."

Calpurnia Mordacks was in her duty now, and took her autumn holiday
at Flamborough. And though Widow Precious felt her heart go pitapat at
first sight of another Mrs. Mordacks, she made up her mind, with a gulp,
not to let this cash go to the Thornwick. As a woman she sighed; but as
a landlady she smiled, and had visions of hoisting a flag on her roof.

When Mordacks, like a victorious general, conqueror of this Danish town,
went forth for his evening stroll to see his subjects and be saluted, a
handsome young sailor came up from the cliffs, and begged to have a few
quiet words with him. "Say on, my lad; all my words are quiet," replied
the general factor. Then this young man up and told his tale, which was
all in the well-trodden track of mankind. He had run away to sea, full
of glorious dreams--valor, adventure, heroism, rivers of paradise, and
lands of heaven. Instead of that, he had been hit upon the head, and
in places of deeper tenderness, frequently roasted, and frozen yet more
often, basted with brine when he had no skin left, scorched with thirst,
and devoured by creatures whose appetites grew dai